Employing full pensioners is a good way for employers to fill staffing gaps in times of a shortage of skilled workers and general staff shortages. In particular, the use of full pensioners is relatively uncomplicated for employers: in many respects it is no different from the use of non-pensioners, and in some cases there are even advantages.
Read moreCategory: Legal advice
Important changes in foundation law as of July 2023
From July 1, 2023, the Act on the Unification of Foundation Law will come into force, bringing together, supplementing and clarifying many previously unclear, contradictory or incomplete points in foundation law. In addition to new, uniform federal regulations, the reform also includes the introduction of a central foundation register. The changes are intended to provide greater legal certainty in matters of liability,
Read moreTax-privileged fringe benefits: How companies can score points in the battle for satisfied employees
Everyone is talking about a shortage of skilled workers – but what can companies do to retain good employees in the long term? In addition to a good working atmosphere, performance-related pay is of course a very important factor. However, more than half of every euro of a salary increase often goes to taxes and social security contributions.
Read moreWorking time recording & trust-based working time: will it still work in the future?
At the end of 2022, the German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht – BAG) issued a landmark ruling stating that recording working hours is no longer a “can” but a “must”. Employers must – even now! – record the working hours of their employees. For new-work models based on trust-based working time,
Read moreBitcoin & Co: BFH rules crypto profits are taxable! What do crypto investors need to know now?
With the decision of the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof, BFH) of February 28, 2023, the highest German fiscal court has now for the first time taken a position on income tax issues relating to crypto assets – Bitcoins and Co.
In it, the previously issued fiscal court decisions are followed and also essential excerpts of the BMF letter of May 10,
Read moreChild benefit evaded? Criminal charges for tax evasion can be the consequence!
Under certain conditions, parents in Germany are entitled to child benefit. As of January 1, 2023, the entitlement to child benefit is a uniform 250 euros per month and child and is paid out to parents by the family benefits office. So far, so good.
But if the family benefits office pays out child benefits even though parents are not (or no longer) entitled to them,
Read moreReal estate valuation newly regulated – higher inheritance tax and gift tax for real estate since 01.01.2023
Real estate valuation in the event of a gift or inheritance has always been a bone of contention. Now, the legislator has reformed the Valuation Act – and with significant effects on the calculation of inheritance tax and gift tax in connection with real estate. This is because the value of real estate has been determined on the basis of the market value for the calculation of gift and inheritance tax since the changes to the law on 01.01.2009.
Read moreFederal Labor Court (BAG) ruling: Vacation is only time-barred after notice from the employer
Whether and when vacation becomes time-barred is a question that can of course also be of burning interest to employers: After all, whether their own employees are still entitled to vacation or not can become relevant above all if an employee leaves the company and in this context asserts claims for vacation compensation.
Read moreCorona emergency aid – who is facing repayment?
In the first months of the Corona crisis, the government granted emergency aid to smaller companies and solo self-employed persons who found themselves in an existential emergency. Eligibility to apply for Corona emergency aid was conditional on the existence of a short-term liquidity shortage. According to the approval notice, all recipients of emergency aid are obliged to check whether the predicted liquidity bottleneck has actually occurred.
Read moreInflation compensation premium: what employers need to know now!
The inflation compensation premium is currently the talk of the town. After all, it gives employees hope that they will receive a payment of up to 3,000 euros from their employer to compensate for the current rapid inflation – tax-free and free of social security contributions.
What is correct is that employers have the option of paying employees an inflation compensation bonus.
Read moreAll around the mini-job! Current labour law
From 01 October 2022, the statutory minimum wage will increase to EUR 12 per hour. At the same time, the remuneration for mini-jobs will be increased from EUR 450 to EUR 520 per month.
In connection with the mini-job, there are a number of things to consider from an employment law perspective.
Read moreBureaucratic monster for employers? Employment contracts must comply with stricter requirements as of 1 August
Evidence Act: Employment contracts must be put to the test with regard to mandatory transparent working conditions
From 1 August 2022, the amended regulations of the Verification Act will apply. The background to this is the EU Directive 2019/1152 (Working Conditions Directive), which comes into force on 31 July 2019.
Read moreInheriting debts: what you can do to prevent this from happening!
An inheritance – despite all the personal tragedy – is often a financial blessing for the heirs. Never before has so much wealth been inherited in Germany as at present. However, there is also the other case: the testator or the testatrix – e.g. one’s own parents or spouse –
Read moreThe GbR company register is coming: clarify now what needs to be done!
Information about a GbR and the persons behind the GbR has not been as easy to obtain as, for example, in the case of a GmbH.
This will change on 01.01.2024 when the Act to Modernise the Law on Partnerships (MoPeG) introduces the company register for civil law companies.
Read moreCurrent BAG ruling on overtime: Burden of proof not on the employer!
Overtime and its compensation are often the cause of disputes between employees and employers. This is especially true when overtime is still “on the books” after a dismissal and ex-employees want to be paid for this overtime.
But who has to prove whether overtime was actually worked? So far,
Read moreSecretly recording a conversation at the workplace: Can employees be dismissed (without notice)?
Discussions between employers or supervisors and employees are often delicate. If conflicts are smouldering or have already erupted in the working relationship, they can become very verbal.
It is not uncommon for employees to reach for their smartphones and secretly record conversations with their employers or superiors that are supposed to be confidential.
Read moreLabour law: current case studies and judgments
Read the background and rulings on exciting issues that concern employees and employers alike:
- What happens to already granted leave during a quarantine order?
- Dismissal without notice even in the case of embezzlement of low-value amounts?
- Dismissal without notice for reading and passing on someone else’s e-mail?
Transparency register & GmbH: Entry until 30.06. – fine threatens
GmbHs and UGs must correctly enter beneficial owners in the transparency register by June 30, 2022. Otherwise, those responsible will face heavy fines.
Read more about the transparency register and the registration deadline.
Read moreCrypto, NFT, virtual currencies and other tokens: what does the current BMF letter say?
The new BMF letter “Einzelfragen zur ertragsteuerrechtlichen Behandlung von virtuellen Währungen und von sonstigen Token” has meanwhile also been published. Below you will find my brief and initial assessment of the letter of the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF).
Our expert Dr.
Read moreIncome tax return 2021: How do I take my crypto investments into account?
With an estimated 5,000,000 people in Germany investing in the crypto world, many will soon be asking the question, “How do I account for my crypto investments in my 2021 income tax return?” Some individuals will have to make sometimes substantial tax payments as a result of their crypto investments and will thus also be required to file an income tax return in due time.
Read moreFacility-based mandatory vaccination against Corona: authorities get serious!
Since March 16, 2022, the facility-based vaccination obligation has been in effect: employers must report to the health department all employees* – including all external service providers in the company (!) – who have not been vaccinated against the Corona virus, have not recovered, or have not been vaccinated for medical reasons.
Read moreFacility-based mandatory vaccination: individual consultation hours for your employees
Compulsory vaccination for healthcare workers is currently the talk of the town and the subject of heated debate. In fact, there are still employees who do not want to be vaccinated against the coronavirus – even in health-sensitive professions. Whether employers understand this or not is a moot point.
Read moreEmployees in quarantine: who pays?
With the current Omikron wave, the Corona pandemic is leading to infection figures in unprecedented numbers. At the same time, this is leading to an unprecedented number of employees having to go into quarantine on the instructions of the health authorities and on the basis of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG).
Read moreReminder! Expiry of the transitional periods for entry in the transparency register
Have you already notified the beneficial owners of your legal entity to the Transparency Register? Not yet? Then it is high time you did!
With the amendments to the Money Laundering Act (Transparency Register and Financial Information Act) that came into force on 1 August 2021,
Read moreCorona lawsuits and recent rulings on them – an update
As early as summer 2021, we compiled interesting labour law cases and rulings on Corona measures for you up to that point. The courts have since made further important rulings – on the following questions:
- Does an employer have to compensate his employees in the event of an officially ordered plant closure?
Are profits from cryptocurrency trading subject to tax? Revision BFH withdrawn
The BFH (Case No. IX R 27/21), Germany’s highest tax court, was supposed to deal with this question; a decision was expected in February. This has now come to nothing. The appeal filed by the taxpayer has been withdrawn in the meantime.
With increasing crypto trading,
Read moreReduction of holiday due to short-time work? Current labour law
An interesting question, especially in Corona times:
Is the holiday entitlement automatically reduced due to short-time work? Or is an individual agreement with the employee or a company agreement necessary? This has been controversial until now.
Now the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) has eliminated this legal uncertainty.
Read moreThe ACCONSIS Future Workshop turns 3 – Happy Birthday!
The Future Workshop is our digital workbench for new solutions!
On the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of the ACCONSIS Future Workshop (ZKW), we asked Stefan Herzer, member of the Executive Board and responsible for organization and digitization at ACCONSIS, for an interview.
We were particularly interested in how the idea of the Future Workshop came about,
Read moreImportant information for the end of the year 2021
2021 saw a whole range of significant changes in the tax area for businesses, employers and employees, home and land owners as well as capital investors and taxpayers.
At the end of the year, important innovations were also set in motion that will take effect in 2022, for example the extension of the Corona economic aid and the short-time working allowance.
Read more3G at work, testing, home office – what applies?
New regulations for employers and employees
The number of people infected with Corona in Germany has risen rapidly again within the last few weeks and is causing new record figures in the negative sense. For the first time, the so-called 7-day incidence of 400 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants was exceeded on a national average.
Read moreTax havens defense law – Turkey still not on EU ‘black list’
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of reports regarding measures to combat tax evasion in Germany. The German tax authorities are using a wide variety of tools for this purpose. Data CDs from third countries continue to be purchased, most recently tax data from Dubai. At the same time,
Read moreWhat is the right of first refusal for municipalities?
The municipality can only exercise the right of first refusal for a property in certain cases if it lies within the scope of a preservation order.
In a ruling dated 09.11.2021 – 4 C 1.20, the Federal Administrative Court ruled that a municipality’s right of first refusal for a plot of land located within the scope of an urban development ordinance does not exist if the plot of land is built on and used in accordance with the purposes of the urban development measures and the buildings erected on it do not have any defects.
Read moremünchner immobilien fokus: Digital event series all about real estate
Since 2009, our experts Agnes Fischl-Obermayer, lawyer, tax advisor and specialist in inheritance law, and Regine Funke-Lachotzki, auditor and tax advisor, have been organising the series münchner immobilien fokus together with Aigner Immobilien GmbH.
Every year in spring and autumn, the event takes place on the premises of the Literaturhaus in Munich to provide a networking platform for members of the industry.
Read moreDo you speak “crypto” yet?
“Do you have a wallet yet?” or “Has the transaction been entered into the blockchain?” Do you even understand what they’re saying? If you intend to dive into the digital world to do business, you really have no choice but to learn a new “foreign language”: the language of digital commerce.
Read moreStandard land values: The current development in Munich
ATTENTION: New standard land values as of 01.01.2022 – further increases to be expected
Due to the implementation of the real estate tax reform, the expert committees have recently been instructed to set new standard land values as of 01.01.2022, in deviation from the two-year cycle (31.12.2022).
Read moreCurrent case law on the certificate of incapacity for work
The Federal Labor Court recently had to rule on a case in which an employee gave notice of termination and submitted a certificate of incapacity for work to the employer on the same day as the notice of termination was received.
According to this certificate of incapacity for work,
Read moreCorona measures: Labour law issues – and how the courts see it
Some of the Corona provisions and measures introduced by the government since the beginning of the crisis have led to interesting questions and, in some cases, to legal proceedings. In the meantime, some decisions from the first and second instance are available.
Read decisions on issues such as “Right of access to place of work”,
Read moreReal Estate Transfer Tax Reform: Tighter rules for the transfer of shares in real estate holding companies
On July 1, 2021, the Act Amending the Real Estate Transfer Tax Act will come into force. This contains extensive new regulations for the acquisition of shares in real estate holding partnerships and corporations.
Read moreTax data from Dubai: tax authorities are currently evaluating sensitive data
The last prominent data acquisition was some time ago. Many may still remember the acquisition of bank information from Switzerland. The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia was particularly prominent in this regard. The data purchase was and is highly controversial and even involved the Federal Constitutional Court. The acquired information has flushed billions into the state coffers.
Read moreFrom cryptocurrency to crypto art: seeing through digital returns
The Corona pandemic does have its positive sides: Thanks to it, digitization has progressed rapidly and has found its way into all areas of life. We now work mainly remotely, buy more online, and invest more in stocks. Moreover, it is still trendy to trade in cryptocurrency.
In this context,
Read moreFight against time: Last chance to avoid prosecution in Germany by filing a voluntary declaration
Now the time has come. The final step on the part of Turkey has been taken. The agreement on the automatic exchange of information (AEOI), which Turkey ratified back in 2017, will now actually be implemented. The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, personally ordered the execution of the relevant decision by decree on May 31,
Read moreLearn more about ACCONSIS: Annual report 2020
The ACCONSIS Annual Report 2020 is available. Read the latest on our figures, data and facts. We also give you many exciting insights into our strategic developments of the business areas and our visions for the future.
Read moreCan the employer force employees to be vaccinated?
Vaccination protects! At the very least, it it reduces one’s own risk of infection with corona and reduces absenteeism due to illness in the company. For this reason, employers have a sustained interest in ensuring that as many employees as possible are vaccinated against Corona.
But what can employers do to increase their employees’
Read moreWelcome, convocat! ACCONSIS expands its consulting expertise
The ACCONSIS family is growing! By merging with convocat – the law firm of Agnes Fischl-Obermayer, lawyer and tax consultant, and Regine Funke-Lachotzki, chartered accountant and tax consultant – ACCONSIS not only strengthens its team, but also significantly expands its expertise in tax, real estate and inheritance law.
Read moreCasual landlords – Airbnb & rental portals targeted by tax authorities!
INSIDER online event on March 24, 2021 on the topic.
Due to the greater response to the article “Airbnb – The tax office knows who you rented to last summer!” – we are once again expanding our comments to include the following points:
After we have so far dealt in particular with the issues surrounding the investigative measures of the German tax authorities and the resulting tax obligations or consequences under criminal tax law,
Read moreIntroduction of short-time work by instant notice of dismissal pending a change of contract ?
Especially in the Corona pandemic, many employers have discovered short-time work as an effective means of bridging this difficult phase. Nevertheless, short-time work cannot simply be imposed by the employer.
Rather, a legal basis is required. This can result from a collective agreement, a works agreement or the employment contract.
Read moreAirbnb – The tax office knows who you rented to last summer!
The Bayerische Rundfunk reports on the topic of “Airbnb” in its article “Airbnb landlords targeted by tax investigators” on B5 aktuell and the BR24 app. Dr. Christopher Arendt, specialist tax lawyer at ACCONSIS explains:
- What led to the current situation? How can the tax office determine that I have generated income with Airbnb?
Dismissal protection proceedings: Does the employee have a duty to provide information regarding job offers?
A lawsuit by an employee against the employer to protect against dismissal is always accompanied by a high cost risk for the employer.
If it turns out at the end of the often lengthy proceedings that the termination was invalid, the employment relationship is not terminated. But what is much more serious is that the employer must pay the contractually owed remuneration,
Read moreSurprise mail from the tax office – where did they get the information about my foreign account?
Today, the German tax office can access high-quality data on foreign accounts and systematically evaluate this data. The Federal Central Tax Office is currently evaluating 1.1 million messages from this data exchange.
We are currently experiencing the effects of implementing this data exchange.
After the first measures of data exchange on financial matters between European and non-European countries have already taken place in the past,
Read moreQuarantine, who pays the salary?
The second wave is just rolling in – there is currently no improvement in sight. In this context the questions arise,
- whether the employer must continue to pay the remuneration during a quarantine
- whether he/she may be entitled to a refund or
- whether he also has to pay if the employee returns from a risk area.